Snowman

GK: The life of a snowman is not a simple life, though I suppose it seems so to people who see us standing motionless in someone's front yard, but when, the other day, my head was knocked off and broke into pieces, it changed my life in a very dramatic fashion. I was no longer standing in a front yard in St. Paul, Minnesota, I was in a village in Peru where a snowman is called a muñeco de nieve and because snowmen are so rare, there are no rules for how to behave, and for that reason, in Peru we are able to walk and talk and even dance and sing ----- I can see that you don't believe me, but have you ever been to Peru? No you have not. (LATIN CITY AMBIENCE, MUSIC UNDER, VOLVER VOLVER) I was walking around the plaza of a town in the mountains called Canseco and a beautiful woman had her arm in mine and we were dancing.......

GK SINGS:
I was a pile of ice in someone's front yard
And then my forehead thundered
And I burst
And my cranium dissected
And of course I expected the worst.
But suddenly I was in Peru
And I was handsome and mobile too and smart
And I was no mere snowman
I was Roman, and a showman,
And I had a big warm heart.

I'm a man, a man, a man
I am beautiful today
And I have a lot to say
I am American, I'm American
I'm a man, a man, a man.

SS: Oh you beautiful white man. Man of snow. So cool. So beautiful. My name, Dolores. Come. Let us sit in the shade of the mahogany tree. Tell me of your life. Tell me all.

GK: So I told her everything.....how the little girl and her dad had made me after the first big snowfall...(SS: Fantastico)..how I fell in love with a snowwoman named Brenda, even though I couldn't see her... (SS: Dulce)..how I struggled to find out the purpose of my life and how a black walnut tree told me that I was only precipitation. (SS: Interesante.) And then how my head got knocked off and broke in a hundred pieces and how suddenly I felt the vastness and grandeur of the world ---- (PIANO CHORDS) and how it was not shattering, it was liberating------ (HM VOCAL, RISING TO BIG PIANO CHORD) ----- and when my head got busted, that was when I heard a voice from heaven above......

JS: (SINGS, IMPROV, GOSPEL STYLE)
Behold I proclaim unto you a great mystery.
You may think you know science and history.
But you don't know much at all until your head is broken.
And I am not jokin.

GK: Are you the Lord?

JS (SINGS): You see this sword?

GK: The one with the flame?

JS (SINGS): The very same. You see these things?

GK: They look like wings.

JS (SINGS):
And this golden umbrella?
I'm the archangel Gabriela.
I bring tidings of great joy.
So sit down and listen up, boy.
(HARP)
As long as you go on your way,
The Lord has nothing to say.
But the Lord will draw near
Whenever you are ready to hear.
He is the Lord God of all creation
And all is under his domination.
You cannot find
Him only with your mind,
You must worship with your heart, your hands, your feet,
Your ears, your eyes, your seat,
Also your nose, your mouth, and your abdomen.
And he can be worshipped by snowmen.

So what does this mean?
It means: whether you are white or green
Or black or brown or chartreuse
And whether you call him God, or Allah, or Zeus,
He has a purpose in mind for you,
Something for you to do.
A place where you belong,
A part to sing in creation's song.
You're not temporary, you're universal.
And this is no rehearsal.
You will not come this way again.
So pay attention. Amen.
HM VOCAL, RISING. (PIANO CHORD)

GK: It was a big vision.....mountains, dancing women, an angel, also dogs (SFX) and eagles (SFX) and drums (DRUMMING). And as soon as it started, it was over. And I was back in the front yard. Headless. (WIND, TRAFFIC) A very odd feeling, to have no head. I could hear the old mailman Bob come by. (FOOTSTEPS IN SNOW)

TR: Well, that's it for today. Time to head home. Boy, she's a warm one. Hey, Snowman. You're not looking so good. Me neither, for that matter. Old lady's got me cleaning the basement today. Work, work, work. That's all I do. Do my route, go home, work some more. Never ends. Must be quite the life, just standing there.

Lovingly selected from the earliest archives of A Prairie Home Companion, this heirloom collection represents the music from earliest years of the now legendary show: 1974–1976. With songs and tunes from jazz pianist Butch Thompson, mandolin maestro Peter Ostroushko, Dakota Dave Hull and the first house band, The Powdermilk Biscuit Band (Adam Granger, Bob Douglas and Mary DuShane).